Blended unit design

Using a blended approach allows you to reimagine your course. Blended learning encourages the use of active, student-focused approaches that increase depth of learning and engagement.

New units vs reconceptualising an existing unit

When you design a unit from scratch you have a blank canvas to start from, without any presuppositions of how a unit should be structured.

When you are re-designing a course, it is best to try and adopt the same mindset of ‘beginner’s mind’. Try to consciously loosen the closeness you have with the previous unit, dropping your preconceptions of how the unit has run and start from the course objectives afresh.

Common pitfalls to be aware of when re-designing a unit:

It is important not just “add on online components” to an existing course, as this can lead to too much content and unreasonable workload for students and instructors.

It may be tempting to translate aspects from the original course directly into new course, but direct translation might not be the best strategy. You will need to consider timing, the skills of instructor and whether learners are being adequately prepared.

If there are existing activities, assessment and curriculum these will likely influence you, be aware of this.

Selecting technologies should be driven by educational imperatives, not the other way around.

Key points are inspired by Blended Course Design: A synthesis of best practices (McGee and Reis, 2012).

Reconceptualising your role

A challenging aspect of blended learning, is not solely looking at your unit with fresh eyes, but looking at your role as an instructor in the same way. You may have become very attached to certain styles of teaching and it will be worth reconsidering what teaching strategies will create the best blended learning outcomes for your students.

ACU academics speak

The biggest change.....was changing my own mindset about what the opportunities could be for students if we move away from face-to-face for everything. I had to get over that. It’s great to stand in front of a bunch of students and have them hanging on every word you’re going to say, I think that’s good for your ego. It’s different when you’re doing a recording. That [lecturing] might not be part of my every day teaching any more, so that was something I had to get used to. I find that there’s other ways to interact with students that are just as meaningful and just as effective.

When I first started designing units for blended mode, I think the challenges I faced primarily were overcoming my own fear of this new way of communicating and changing my attitude because my previous experience had almost been universally in face-to-face contexts.

Choosing the right blend

One of the most challenging aspects of designing a blended unit is choosing the right ‘blend’. Which elements work best face-to-face and which online? This will be guided by the nature of your course objectives. It is important that there is clear purposeful integration between the face-to-face and online elements.

The following areas are important to consider when choosing the right balance for your unit:

Active learning and interactivity

What student-focused, active learning approaches would be appropriate?

How will students interact: in the following areas “student to student, student to instructor, student to content”?

What strategies will build a sense of community?

How will feedback be provided to students?

Technology

Which technologies will help support student achievement of the learning outcomes?

Do the instructors need to build their skills in using a specific technology?

What infrastructure will be required to support teaching and learning?

What level of skill do the students have?

What support is required for students to use selected technologies?

Supporting technology use

'Digital natives' need support too

There is the common myth that Gen Y/Millennial students are 'digital natives', that they will have an instinctual ability to use technology. This is not necessarily the case, as their familiarity with technologies may be only in specific areas such as social networking, web browsing or gaming.

When you integrate technologies into your unit and assessments, be sure to adequately support students. This can be as simple as providing links to the LEO guides for students, or to external 'how to' guides and videos for other tools.

Professional development for instructors

ACU has several technology-focused professional development offerings that will improve your understanding. In particular, there are the eLearning 101 and LEO workshops, see the professional development page.

Guidelines

Scholarly readings

This report, Good practice report: Blended learning (Partridge et al 2011) provides a summative evaluation of the good practices and key outcomes for teaching and learning from completed ALTC projects and fellowships relating to blended learning. It includes a literature review of the good practices and key outcomes for teaching and learning from national and international research and identifies areas in which further work or development are appropriate.

Facilitated professional development

ACU has several professional development offerings that will improve your understanding of blended unit design and teaching in blended units. In particular the Teaching Support Program and the Graduate Certificate of Higher Education, see the professional development page.

Self-paced professional development

Teaching Online Course (TOC)

Work through the ‘Creating your course’ module of the Teaching Online Course (self-paced). “Module 3 Unit 3: Creating your course”. Although the content is pitched at planning online units, the steps are transferable to planning for blended learning.